Dartmoor
In Search Of The Corn Wall
Adventures in the West Country
April 28 - May 8, 2023 | Maximum Group Size: 15 Participants | Availability: Late Registration*
St. Michael’s Mount
Back in the sixties, every July, my mum and dad would make up two beds on the back seat of their Ford Zephyr for my sister and me to ‘sleep’ on, and, in the dead of night, we would drive across London and head off down through Hampshire, Wiltshire and Devon to glorious Cornwall for our annual summer holiday. The excitement was unbearable!
The idea was that Michèle and I would sleep soundly for at least seven hours, by which time we would be comfortably near our destination, the little cove of Millendreath, and, although tired, my parents would not have had to endure the daytime traffic and the interminable calls of, “Are we there yet?” from the back seat.
Well, as always, the parental plans were only half successful! We knew that we were supposed to be asleep but with our hearts pounding and our imaginations racing with thoughts of golden beaches to play on, endless scary two foot waves to surf in, treacherous cliffs to climb, rock pools to go crabbing in and a constant supply of scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream, sleep was well nigh impossible!
For me, part of the problem was my fascination with, and eagerness to see, the great ‘Corn Wall’ (in England corn is wheat) which we somehow had to get across in order to reach the cornucopia of pleasures that awaited us. In my small boy’s mind, the ‘Corn Wall’ had taken on mythical status......as long as the Great Wall and as much a barrier between the grim world and the world of fun as the Berlin Wall, both of which my dad had informed me of from his travels abroad. What did this strange wall made of wheat look like? Perhaps, an endless line of enormous haystacks or a mountain of loose wheat, piled like gravel in the builder’s yard, or maybe just a line of wheatsheafs, like on the pub sign back home.
Kynance Cove
Inevitably, after several hours of trying not to make a sound - while sneaking furtive glances through the car’s side windows, like an intrepid soldier peering over the trenches - I would finally succumb to sleep and never got to see that mysterious ‘Corn Wall’ or show my handmade passport to the border police, who, by the way, only allowed the very best behaved children to cross over to their land of an infinity of fun! So, when Discover Europe suggested that I lead a tour there next April, a child’s voice called out, “Hooray, another chance to hunt down that pesky wall”!
We are going to need all the help we can get! So why not join us on the hunt for the great Corn Wall this spring? There’s no guarantee that we will find it but the fun will be in the searching! There are only two conditions, your eyes must be peeled at all times and no shouting out, “Are we there yet?”
* Late registrations (received within 60 days of departure) may also incur extra fees as discounted rates for hotels and airfares may no longer be available so close to departure. Participants will be made aware of any such charges before their registration is accepted
If you would like to register for In Search of the Corn Wall, please complete and submit the form located under Reserve Now.
* Late registrations (received within 60 days of departure) may also incur extra fees as discounted rates for hotels and airfares may no longer be available so close to departure. Participants will be made aware of any such charges before their registration is accepted
*Once you have submitted the above registration form with your digital signature, a Discover Europe staff member will be in contact as soon as possible to process your deposit and welcome you to the tour.